Author's Note: While planning this story, I had a lot of material before the invasion that I wanted to include, but at the same time my heart was set on having the Jade Palace Destruction as my prologue. I eventually decided to use Before and After. For the first half of the story, each chapter will be split into two parts: the italics half is Before, as in before the Jade Palace Destruction, and the half in normal text is After, as in current time. Both halves will be connected in some way.
Hope this makes things clear. As always, Read and Review!
Four weeks before the Jade Palace's destruction...
In the dream, Viper was once again too late.
It was the same dream she had every few days after Tujiu's death in the Himalayas, at the hands of the entity known only as Ember. Back then, no-one knew who or what she really was. Ancient texts within the fortress of White Fortitude called her the Dragon Empress, a god-like being who ruled the lost city of Shambhala. The fortress itself was an outpost, where the Dragon Empress would meet with ambassadors and other guests while keeping the location of her city safe. The nature of the Empress herself, however, remained a terrifying mystery.
In the dream, Viper and Crane were racing through the dimly lit passage towards the library, pursuing the dangerously insane Tujiu after his last attempt on Emperor Xian's life. As they reached the stairs leading up to the end of the passage, they were aware of how unusually hot it was. They reached the top just as Tujiu started screaming.
Once in the library, they saw the flames chasing Tujiu towards the secondary library, the one with all the scrolls and books written in foreign languages, flames that seemed to be alive and taunting Tujiu as he tried in vain to escape.
Despite their instincts telling them to get away, that there was nothing they could do, that something terrible was about to happen, Viper and Crane had followed, and it was in the second library that it happened.
Tujiu standing in the middle of the room, trembling. Viper and Crane stepping forward to apprehend him. A blast of fiery heat knocking them to the floor and holding them there as Ember went for the kill.
She had been to close that Viper could have reached out with her tail and touch her leg.
Nothing can stop her now, Tujiu had said.
And so nothing stopped her from entrapping Tujiu in a ball of flame and crushing him into ash as black as death.
His agonized screams were torture to Viper's ears.
Oh gods...
Oh gods no...
"No!" Viper cried out as she woke with a jerk.
The cry wasn't that loud, so no-one entered the room. All was silent except for Po's snoring, barely audible through the paper walls.
Viper curled into a tight coil on her mat, breathing heavily. It's just a dream, she told herself. It's just a dream. It's just a dream.
But it wasn't. Not really. Dreams don't often happen in real life. But Tujiu's death had really happened. It was real. Ember was real. Even worse, she was still out there, doing who knows what. And that meant that one day, Viper would probably have to face her again. The mere thought of it brought her close to a heart attack.
Gods, she needed a drink.
Taking care to not disturb the others, Viper slithered into the hallway and to the kitchen. Two minutes later she had a kettle boiling. She was taking a teacup from the cupboard when Master Shifu entered the room.
"Master!" Viper quickly bowed. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be out of bed, but-"
"Bad dreams again?" Shifu asked. Viper nodded. Shifu took the teacup and pulled another out the cupboard. "Sit down. I'll finish."
Once the tea was poured and they were both at the table, Shifu gazed at Viper with icy blue eyes full of understanding. "As you know, Viper, very little scares me. However, that doesn't suggest that I don't understand what you're going through. You're afraid of her."
"Master?" Viper asked hesitantly. Was it really that obvious she was scared of Ember?
"Not only have you been suffering from nightmares, but you are reluctant to leave the Jade Palace, especially at night. Also, I suspect your attitude after the events of the Himalayas wasn't just because of your temporary breakup, was it, Viper? Am I wrong?"
Viper shook her head. She knew better than to deny it. "I know it seems weak, but you're right. I'm scared, Master. Ember is unlike anything we have ever faced before. Nerve attacks and brute strength I can deal with, but someone who can paralyze an entire army without touching them? How can you fight something like that?"
Shifu stroked his beard.
"Viper, drink your tea." Viper obeyed. The sweetness of the dissolved sugar made her feel a little better. "Do you remember the bedtime story you tried to tell Su the other night? The one about the Nian?"
"Yes, but it turned out Su hates fairy tales. Many of them are far darker than most children her age can understand, but she does. When I got to the part where the Nian started abducting people, she got so scared I had to stop." Not for the first time, Viper felt a pang of guilt and sadness for the girl.
"Speaking of Su, I have a task for you concerning her." Shifu said. "You know she is returning home with her parents in five weeks."
"Yes." Viper was not pleased at the thought, even though she knew Su was only staying for a little while.
"Until then, I need you to watch over her for any strange signs."
"Is this about the procedure she and the others went through?" Viper asked. "I thought the insomnia was cured."
"It was. However, I am reluctant to let her go home." Shifu did indeed look worried at that moment. "She is still not herself. Mr. Ping reported strange behavior when she was staying with him for a few days. And this all started after the Himalayas. That creature... it did something to her. I'm afraid that the procedure only solved part of the problem."
Viper felt a shiver of fear for the girl. Not only that, for the first time she felt anger at Ember. "I'll look after her." She said.
"Good. Tell me, how did that story end?"
"The villagers used loud noise to scare the Nian away."
"So they beat the monster." Shifu said. "There are many stories about monsters just like the Nian. Do you know why?"
Viper knew. Her mother had told her a long time ago. "Because they show you not just that monsters exist, but that monsters can be beaten."
"Exactly. As long as we don't give in the fear, we will find a way to defeat Ember. I'm sure of it."
Viper smiled in appreciation. "Thank you, Master."
Shifu smiled back. "You're welcome. Finish your tea and go back to sleep."
With that he left, leaving Viper alone with her thoughts.
Two months after the Jade Palace's destruction... Two days before Po's awakening...
Viper watched over the sedated Master Shifu, hating herself for allowing him to get hurt so badly.
Monsters can be beaten, he had told her. As it turned out, so can heroes.
It had all happened so suddenly. One minute she, Monkey, Crane and Mantis were arriving back at the Jade Palace after their trip into the village, wondering why Qiang and Su's parents hadn't arrived by then, the next the imperial soldiers arrived earlier than expected and all hell broke loose. Viper had soon lost count of the many red-eyed foes she brought down. The worst had occurred when a meteor hammer studded with devilishly sharp spikes swung towards her while she was distracted.
The next thing she knew, Shifu had leapt to intercept the blow, and in a split second received two broken ribs and a dozen punctures wounds over one half of his body.
After the initial shock, Viper and the others had known then that it was over. The Jade Palace, already half burned to the ground by then, was done for. And so the first chance they got they fled, disappearing into the darkness with heavy hearts. They reached the designated hiding place in the old house in the forest to find it empty and encrusted in amethyst. Po and Tigress were nowhere to be found. As for Su, she had disappeared before the surprise invasion.
Talk about depressed, Viper thought, remembering the two months between then and now. They'd first stopped in the middle of the forest to treat Shifu's injuries as best as they could, and then travelled to Mantis's hometown. They'd rested for two days before red eyed soldiers were spotted wandering in the streets and they'd had to move on. All the while Viper had listened to Mantis's ranting. The bug had vowed over and over to make the invaders pay for what they'd done. At first, Viper would shut him up each time he started, but gradually her own anger started to grow. No-one had struck as severe a blow as they did, and once they'd recovered, Viper and her friends would strike back with extreme prejudice.
Somehow, Viper knew that Ember didn't do this. She had seen what Ember could do. Ember didn't need an army. And that left the mysterious Order.
Which led to where they were now. Right now, Viper and the others were hiding in the rebuilt Tower of Sacred Flame, where the stewards of Gongmen City lived. Viper and the others had travelled there three days ago, and since then they were waiting for Shifu to fully recover. They had had a nasty scare when Shifu suddenly required emergency treatment last night, hence why he was currently sedated, but at the moment all seemed well.
Outside the tower, however, it was a different story. Over the last two months they had received news of red-eyed soldiers abducting people off the streets all over China. When those people returned, they had the same red eyes as the soldiers, and the same hostile behavior.
Viper knew of something similar that had happened in the past, when Scorpion discovered the hypnotic elixir and used it to try and conquer the Valley of Peace. Could she be involved?
Somehow, Viper didn't think so.
Shifu stirred. He would be waking up soon. "Please pull through." Viper whispered.
Knock, knock, knock!
Viper looked to the door. It opened, and in walked the Masters Council, Masters Storming Ox, Croc and Boar. With them was the doctor who had been treating Shifu for the last couple of days. "How is he?" Ox asked.
"Still sedated, but he seems okay." Viper said.
"I will be the judge of that." The doctor said, and immediately began examining his patient.
"What's the news?" Viper asked.
"More disappearances." Boar said irritably. "And some brainwashed goons tried to add us to the list."
"Emphasis on tried." Croc added, smirking.
"Are the others okay?" Viper asked, worried about Crane in particular. This morning, Monkey, Mantis and Crane had set out with the Master's Council to do what they could about the abductions.
"Everyone except Crane has returned." Croc said. "It's almost noon, so he should be back any minute now."
"But in the meantime, we've got some bad news." Ox said. "We should talk in the throne room."
Viper took one last glance at the unconscious Shifu before leaving.
Her friends were waiting in the throne rooms when they arrived. To Viper's relief, none of them looked like they had run into trouble.
"Where's the bird?" Ox asked. Viper hissed at him. That was her boyfriend he was talking about. "Sorry."
"He'll be here soon..." Mantis said. "If those brainwashed goons didn't get to him."
Viper glared daggers, but said nothing.
"Oh well," Ox waved his arms. "One of us can explain everything to him when he gets back. We wanted to wait until Master Shifu woke up, but we've received some information that has changed the situation. Croc, you're the best at talking too much, you can take it from here."
Croc stepped forward. "First off, we've confirmed that the Order was responsible for the attack. They've finally emerged from the shadows."
"Why did they brainwash the imperial soldiers?" Monkey asked.
"The yeti's actions in the Himalayas cost the Order a lot of men, so they stole some of ours. We believe that when the imperial soldiers were sent to the valley, the Order intercepted them."
"What the hell is the Order?" Viper demanded.
Boar sighed. "We don't know much. We learned all we could from what our inside man could tell us."
"Mei Ling?"
"Yes. You must understand that she can't release too much information at a time without being discovered. Come to think of it, we haven't heard from her since the invasion."
"I'm sure she's alright." Croc said. "Anyway, here's what Mei Ling was able to relay to us so far. The Order is a secret organization of alchemists calling themselves the Children of Nuwa. Through experiments with alchemy, they've gifted themselves and members of the inner circle with an extended lifespan, special powers, and a refined version of Scorpion's hypnotic elixir. We don't yet know what their ultimate goal is, but they were definitely involved in the incident at the Temple of Heroes. According to Mei Ling, they sent Mu Zhanshi to retrieve the Sword of Heroes, but what they really wanted was the medallion that opened the temple, for it serves as a key for White Fortitude as well."
"Which means that in the end, what they really want is Ember." Ox said. "But the yeti released her before they could capture her. That makes finding her more important than ever."
Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Not only do we have a homicidal entity on the loose, we have a cult bent on taking over the world to deal with as well! I swear, if Tai Lung or Lord Shen show their ugly faces again...
"But rescuing our friends is still top priority, right?" Monkey asked.
"Of course it is." Ox said. "And we've discovered some information that might just help us accomplish that, and perhaps more. We know where Colonel Sao is hiding."
"Like hell you do." Mantis said.
"We overheard some of the brainwashed soldiers mention Sao and an old fireworks factory about a day's journey from here. He may know where your friends are being held We don't know how long we have before he moves on, though."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Mantis demanded.
"Me!" Crane flew in right at that moment.
"Crane!" Viper rushed over and wrapped her coils around him. "Where have you been?"
Crane hugged her back. "Sorry, I'm late. I ran into some trouble."
Viper saw then that the feathers on his wings and shoulders were slightly ruffled. Other than that, he looked okay. "Crane, what happened?" She asked all the same.
"I was heading back here when I got jumped by two soldiers. Don't worry, it was just your usual cannon fodder. They couldn't throw a punch to save their butts."
"You weren't too hard on them, were you?" Viper asked. "They're not acting under their own willpower."
"Don't worry, once I broke free I knocked them off their feet with the Wings of Justice and got out of there. But that doesn't matter." Crane shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he wanted Viper to let go. She did so, worried by the troubled look on his face. "What matters is that Mei Ling sent them."
The members of the Master's Council took a step. "Our Mei Ling?"
"Somehow she found out that we're hiding here, and sent some men after us, knowing full well that we'd make short work of them." Crane said. "I figured it out after one of them slipped a scroll into my belt. It's her way of sending us a secret message."
With that, he pulled out a tiny scroll and held it out to Croc. Croc took the scroll. Seconds passed as he read it in silence. "What did she say?" Crane asked eventually.
"Attack at Imperial City. HQ. I'll be waiting for you there." Croc said. "And just when I was thinking things couldn't get any worse."
Viper went cold all over. If the Children of Nuwa were attacking the Imperial City... then Emperor Xian and his family were almost certainly the targets. "We have to do something." She said.
"Agreed." Croc said. "But someone still has to go after Sao. I feel we should split up. Ox and I will stay here to protect the city and oversee Grandmaster Shifu's recovery. Some of you will apprehend Sao and find out what he knows, and the rest will go to the Imperial City and find Mei Ling."
"So who gets to go after Sao?" Monkey cracked his knuckles eagerly.
"We've been thinking about that." Ox said. "To capture Sao, we will need a team of about two people to sneak into the building with minimal detection. Master Boar knows the area, so he'll go. As for his partner, we need someone small enough to slip inside undetected and unlock the door so Boar can get in. That leaves Viper and Mantis."
"I'll do it." Viper said at once. "I have my own questions for that little weasel."
It was a sign of how much faith Crane had in her abilities that he didn't protest. She silently thanked him for that.
"As for Crane, Mantis and myself, we'll find Mei Ling." Monkey said. "So when do we go? I'm up for now."
"Oh, I can do now..." Mantis agreed, folding his arms confidently. "And hopefully kick some dragon lady butt along the way."
Tujiu standing in the middle of the room, trembling. Viper and Crane stepping forward to apprehend him. A blast of fiery heat knocking them to the floor and holding them there as Ember went for the kill...
Viper shuddered, and sincerely hoped that Mantis was right.
